It began that June 21 with the slaying in Neshoba County of three civil rights workers, whose bodies were found 44 days later buried beneath an earthen dam. Many of the men involved in the killings were members of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan who lived and worked in Meridian.

Today, the city has its first black mayor and is struggling with that shift of power.

For the last four months, the political climate in Meridian has been on a downward spiral with first-term Mayor Percy Bland at the core of the storm.

Some have attributed the problems to rookie moves by a mayor who's a novice in city government. Others see race as a factor. Outside observers say both are true.

"I've known many, many people — females and African-Americans and Hispanics that use power every bit as wisely as anybody else," said Stephen Rozman, a professor of political science at Tougaloo College in Jackson who has studied the impact of minorities in politics.

But, Rozman said, "Historically, minority groups and women have not had any power, and once they get power, sometimes it goes to their head and they all of a sudden go from a feeling of powerlessness to powerfulness. Just like somebody who has not had any money and has been in poverty. They get money and spend it all because they don't have a financial guide and they're out of balance with it. You can get out of balance with power."

At the same time, in a former Klan stronghold like Meridian, "whites are going to look at you and they're going to scrutinize you and any little mistake will reinforce their prejudices and they can say, 'Aha! He's not up to the job.' Or African-Americans are going to expect a lot and … if he doesn't fulfill expectations that may be too extreme, then they can turn against him," Rozman said.

On Feb. 4, Bland shocked residents when he abruptly terminated longtime Chief Financial Officer Ed Skipper; removed four of the city's five civil service commissioners and suspended the commission's secretary, Gloria Kirby.

Several weeks later, when many thought he should have fired his pick for police chief, James Lee, for allegedly verbally harassing police officers and creating a hostile work environment, Bland instead suspended him for five days without pay.

On May 5, Bland asked Lee to resign because of what he described as a "loss of confidence in his ability to lead the department."

Lee refused and was fired.

At a city council meeting on June 3, Lee was replaced in a 4-1 vote by former Meridian Police Chief Benny Dubose.

Bland also has been at odds with city council members, who have criticized him for what they say has been a failure to live up to two big campaign promises: open communication and a transparent administration.

Instead, Ward 2 Councilman D. Kenneth Markham said there has been a breakdown in communication when it came to several major issues and rather than discussing the matters with the council, Bland vetoed their actions, resulting in the council overriding his authority and passing the measures anyway.

"If the mayor's office would do a little bit better as it relates to communicating what he wants to do, how he wants to do it, how we can help him and how he can help us, then it wouldn't be so blown out of proportion like it is every time there's something that we don't agree with," Markham said.

Adds first-term Ward 4 Councilwoman Kim Houston, "When we were all running as Democrats, we would have rallies that painted a picture of people with like minds getting a lot of things accomplished. So, I was somewhat disappointed when … there was no discussion.

"It makes us look bad when we don't know what's going on," Houston said. "There were times, and even now, I make it a habit of watching the news so I can know exactly what may or may not have happened."

A former Klan stronghold, Meridian was ready for change when Bland, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Cheri Barry to become the city's first black mayor. But rather than bringing the city together, as stated in his platform, Bland seems to confide in a few people and alienate many.

An astute businessman with a human resources background, Bland has jumped the gun, more than once, particularly when it came to his decision that he would hear the appeals of the Civil Service Commission who were removed.

"The mayor thought it was all in his hands," Houston said. "But our concerns were, 'Where are the checks and balances?' You fired them. And then they have to come and stand before you and plead for their jobs back? That just didn't make a lot of sense to us."

The attorney general's office agreed. An opinion issued by Attorney General Jim Hood determined an outside hearing officer should be appointed to oversee the removal hearing of the commissioners.

Constance Slaughter-Harvey, former assistant secretary of state, served as the hearing officer. After two days of testimony in April, the council agreed to remove John Watts, the commission's chairman. The vote was 3-2. Bland withdrew removal of the others.

Houston said the removal hearing revealed many problems within the Civil Service Commission, including a lack of training for the commissioners. The city has since formed a blue ribbon committee to assist in that training.

"Moving forward, we saw there were some things broken within the system," Houston said. "And I don't think it's the people. I think it's the process that we really need to address. And by addressing those things, if we can do it together, it's going to make our city so much stronger."

Bland still defends his actions, stating that in some cases, such as the removal of the civil service commissioners, immediate action was necessary, noting alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act, failure to follow blind testing protocol and improperly curving of a civil service test.

"Everything I've had to make a decision on, I didn't take it lightly," he said. "And maybe I could have communicated with the council. But once I received this information, I had to act on it as quickly as I could. But looking back, I could have told them ... communication could be improved."

As with any new mayor, Bland vowed to put people in place who could help him reach his goals for the city. But when he fired Skipper — after confirming his position at a prior meeting — city council members began to question his judgment.

"He got rid of the parks and recreation director that had been there a long time," Houston said. "But he had somebody ready to fill that spot. With the chief financial officer, there was no one ready. It was all of a sudden, and no one saw that coming. Our finances are well in order and have been for some time under Mr. Skipper's leadership. And I was uncomfortable with (his dismissal) with this position being so vital. We're getting ready to set our budget. We have different bond issues … Mr. Skipper wore a lot of hats, and we have no one in place or someone that had been tracking his steps."

Bland told Skipper he was terminated, not because of anything he did wrong but because he was trying to move the city in a "different direction."

He has not defined what that is.

The council was also dismayed to learn Skipper reportedly was escorted to Bland's office, terminated, escorted back to his office where he packed his belongings, and then escorted out of City Hall.

"You don't do someone that has 35 years of experience and has done as much as Mr. Skipper has done for the finance department like that," Markham said. "City government is about treating people right."

Bland denies he treated Skipper that way but said he asked Skipper to resign and return another day to collect his belongings and he refused.

Skipper could not be reached for comment.

The backlash over Skipper's departure, the Civil Service Commission and Lee's suspension sparked a whirlwind of social media comments.

"It will take Meridian years, if not a generation, to recuperate from the damage caused by this administration … it's a sad, sad day," L.A.C. posted on WTOK-TV's Facebook page.

"Y'all don't get it. Bland is cleaning the mess that has kept the city down for so long. If he seeks re-election, he'll win easily. It doesn't matter what he does for some of you …," Truth posted.

Once in office, many novice politicians move too quickly to replace key members of a prior administration, Rozman said.

"You're going to make your mark," he said. "But you make the more positive and lasting mark if you learn who your people are and work with the people who have something to offer your institution or business and complement what you're doing. And if people don't have anything to offer, you make some changes."

James Young, now in his second term as the first black mayor of nearby Philadelphia, said such drastic changes must be handled wisely.

"I think maybe, the timing — and this is just my opinion — of such a move was just too soon, too early," Young said. "Were the changes needed? Possibly. Probably so. It's kind of like trying to pull teeth without anesthesia. It just sends ripples through the community, I think, based upon the process."

While city council members and attorneys for the civil service commissioners doubt the hostility toward Bland is racially motivated, Rozman and Young said for the first black mayor in a once prominent white supremacist domain like Meridian, race is an issue.

"It's very difficult being a trailblazer for anything," Rozman said, "and because this is the South, you get some racial feelings and that mentality where some people are not comfortable with African-Americans being in positions of power when they couldn't even vote a couple of generations ago."

The bar is set higher for first black mayors, Young said. "They hold us to something more so than other politicians," he said. "I think you should hold me to a higher standard. But I think all of us should be held to a higher standard. Not just blacks, (but) whites, green, yellow or blue. But all of us."

Two years ago, Bland's predecessor, Barry, faced a similar issue when she removed all five civil service commissioners, who were serving on expired terms, at one time. But the repercussions she encountered never amounted to what Bland received.

"She didn't get the same outward reception," Young said.

How she handled it was key, he said.

"I've known her a long time and, even she will admit, that she took some heat. And she did replace some of the commissioners and put some back," Young said. "But that was a beehive. And you have to figure out how to approach it before you just knock it off the limb."

With three years left in his term, Bland can have a successful administration if he makes some crucial adjustments, Young and Rozman say.

"Communication is key," Young said. "You have to get people to buy in to your plan of moving the community forward like a new coach coming in. He's got to get the team to believe in his game plan versus the game plan of the previous coach because some of them still like the old coach. They like the way the old coach coached. And here's this new guy … and 'He's going to tell us what to do?' Sometimes the first response is defense."

Said Rozman: "It's possible to recover if (he) doesn't alienate too many people. How do I build bridges? How do I repair what's been done and move forward?"

Bland admits communication was lax early in his term, but said he and the city council are working hard to purge that gap. "I think everyone would agree that now, we all communicate more frequently and more effectively. Of course, we can always work on continued improvement in that regard, and I believe we all are committed to that."

George Thomas, Meridian's longest sitting city councilman, agrees the situation has improved "and is improving as we go." He attributes a lot of the conflict to having a new mayor who had not been involved in city government. "I'm content right now, to a certain extent. We're getting better," he said.

Continuing with his sports analogy, Young said, "This is very early in the game. If he and his administration realizes that 'Hey. Let's back up and punt. These plays haven't been working. Let's try a different approach,' then three years from now, if progress is being made and the city is up and moving, many of them will forget and not hold the first six months against him."